Prince Harry, Others Ordered to Pay Newspaper $13M

Prince Harry and six other high-profile figures must pay an initial £9.54 million (about $13 million) to the publisher of The Daily Mail after losing a privacy lawsuit, a High Court judge in London ordered on Friday.

The group, which includes singer Elton John and actress Liz Hurley, must make the “on account” payment by Aug. 28 to cover legal costs incurred by Associated Newspapers. Judge Sir Matthew Nicklin set the sum at £9,544,355 and declined to cap the total, meaning the claimants could ultimately face costs of up to £34.5 million—the amount the publisher said it had spent by July.

In a written statement summarizing the ruling, Nicklin said the reasonable interim sum was £9,544,355. In his full judgment he noted that Associated’s claimed costs “appear exceptionally high” and “largely unexplained,” so a detailed court assessment will determine the final amount. He rejected the claimants’ request to limit total costs to £18–20 million, saying such a cap would be arbitrary and unfair to the publisher.

The claimants—Harry; Elton John and his husband David Furnish; former lawmaker Simon Hughes; actresses Sadie Frost and Liz Hurley; and Baroness Doreen Lawrence—lost the case in July. They had alleged that private investigators working for the publisher engaged in phone hacking, voicemail interception and other intrusions into their private lives between 1993 and 2011. The judge ruled they failed to prove the information was obtained unlawfully.

Harry, who flew from the United States to give evidence, was among those who testified. Current and former Associated employees denied any wrongdoing. The case was Harry’s last major legal action against British tabloid newspapers. The ruling came days after he and Meghan announced plans to return to Britain with their children.

According to The Law Society Gazette, the claimants hold legal insurance covering £16.2 million in the event of defeat.